Second Chances
by serafina19
Summary: From escaping their respective cells at 33.1 to finding each other again in Metropolis to fighting for the other's sake, their relationship has gone through plenty of hardships, all in the name of freedom and a normal life. These stories detail that journey. A collection of Evie/Victor one-shots based on my "Calendar Girl" verse. Contains major spoilers for "Fighting Echoes."
1. Silver Lining

******Title: **Silver Lining**  
****Rating: **T

**Summary: **An unlikely source instills a little hope in Victor while inside 33.1.

******Timeline: **This takes place two years prior to "Calendar Girl."

**Warning**: Coarse language

* * *

**Silver Lining**

_And I won't let you drown, when the water's pulling you in  
I'll keep fighting, I'll keep fighting. - _Silver Lining: Hurts

Sit in a rotting jail cell for long enough, and it's almost enough to make a person crazy. Courage, determination, all that fades as a consequence of the passing minutes, knowing that things are going to never going to change.

Then she came.

Her name was Emily, or at least, that's what he thought it was. It was hard to know for sure. The screaming, voluntary or otherwise, didn't help either. She just didn't get it, but Victor knew. No how many times she yelled, circumstances weren't going to get any better than this.

And now, Victor had enough. "Just _stop_!" To his relief, the shouting stopped in the cell next to him. "Enthusiasm like that is only going to make things worse," he added, a little more polite this time, realizing that the girl was likely just scared.

"I sincerely doubt that," was her immediate reply from the other side of the wall. Emily wasn't an idiot, she knew her pleas had a consequence, but when two days of silence brought similar results, she figured it wasn't going to make a real difference. She knew she was a prisoner, she knew how her family had given her up to 'cure' her, but Emily also knew that she didn't want to be a lab rat, a toy for a sick billionaire's interest.

She had no idea how long she had been here now, as time seemed to blend together, no longer mattering in the long scheme of things. But if this was the mentality that Emily had to look forward to, she was planning on changing that, one step at a time. Peering at the high ceiling of her cell, she verified her cell neighbour's name. "It's Victor right?"

Victor's eyes widened before turning towards the wall. It didn't allow him to see her, but it still surprised him that she remembered his name. It had been ages since anyone had called him by his name. A thing, a freak, sure, but anything resembling a human name was hard to come by, so he appreciated the sentiment more than Emily would ever realize. "Yeah." Swallowing hard as he pulled lightly on his restraints, he found it in himself to smile. "And you're... Emily?"

He heard a single chuckle from the other side, as she had been impressed, and slightly flattered that he knew her name after such a short period of time. "That's me."

Victor hadn't exactly experienced small chat behind these doors, but when he heard no outside reaction to their conversation, he took the risk, hoping to calm Emily down. "You know it's not going to help, no one's going to help you here."

"I don't care because living like you do isn't healthy," she blurted, sighing once the words had escaped. "If you give up then... then they win... and you lose the last piece of yourself that you have."

"I already have." His family, the majority of his body, his home, his life, there wasn't much left of Victor Stone these days.

Yet Emily still found a way to disagree. "No you haven't," she said with as much conviction as she could muster. "I may not have seen you face-to-face, but the walls, as you know, are thin."

She couldn't even bear to imagine what Victor must have gone through to get here, not to mention the idea of how long he had been forced to live behind these walls. All those hours, being a prisoner with no hope. She had heard the guards call him a robot, a metallic freak, and it made her sick.

Sure, Emily had her share of monikers, as 'mind-fucker' seemed to be their favourite. But for some reason, it hurt a lot more when she heard them through the walls. She wanted to help, but she was stuck, a concept that reminded her of of her own situation. As she shifted her body, the zipties around her wrists broke the skin further, as they would each time she tried to fight, but she wouldn't give up. And she wouldn't like Victor give up either.

"You're more than that. You have memories, real memories." She may not know what they were, but that didn't mean they didn't exist. "Look, I know I don't know you, and I'm probably just a silly girl to you, but you're no less human than me. That's why you have to keep going, fight for a real second chance, because this isn't it."

For a while, Victor didn't say anything, so Emily released another sigh, figuring her words had fallen on deaf ears. She knew it would be a tough message to send, but she had to try.

"You believe in me that much?" Victor asked, breaking the silence. He had been surprised by the conviction in the girl's voice before, but now, hearing her strength as she talked about him, it blew him away a little. She didn't know Victor, what he looked like, what he could do, but Emily did know what he was, and she still wanted to help.

Feeling her eyes water slightly out of relief as she closed them, Emily replied, "You make it sound like a pointless concept." Not that it surprised her, but she still wanted to point it out to Victor.

"What if it is?"

Looking up at the ceiling above her, the walls that surrounded them both, it felt pointless, but Emily didn't care. "Have a little faith Victor." Finally, there was sound in the corridor, which likely meant bad news for either or both of them. Turning her head towards the wall that separated her and Victor, Emily added, "This isn't the end of our story."

_I will try to save you, cover up the grey  
With silver lining._

**~End~**

* * *

_Sera's Scribbles: As this story is on hiatus for awhile, I'm trying to fill in some blanks, starting with this one. I've been receiving positive comments in regards to Victor and Evie's friendship, so I thought I'd try to give their relationship a little context. But these fics will have little to no Chlollie, so I'm not sure if anyone is actually interested in that. I'll post more if the demand is there, so please let me know if you want to see more._

_**Update on this note (Sept.1/12):** I have updated this fic's title to "Second Chances," a theme in Evie and Victor's relationship. "Second Chances" started as a fanmix for Evie/Victor and built its way into being a collection of stories, starting with "Silver Lining." I will have another one-shot coming soon.  
_


	2. Take me out of here

**Title**: Take me Out of Here  
**Rating: **T

**Summary: **"Victor knew their window for escape was diminishing by the second, and with a couple more keystrokes, he stopped biting his lip as the final door unlocked."

**Timeline: **This takes place nineteen months prior to "Calendar Girl."

* * *

**Take me Out of Here**

_Let the fear collapse, bring no surprise  
Take me out of here- _Watercolour: Pendulum

At this point, Emily had perfected the art of pretending to be asleep. It gave her three, maybe five, extra seconds of peace, but these days, seconds lasted longer for her than the average person. So when Emily heard her cell door open, she stilled, her eyes seemingly relaxed as she heard the footsteps come closer.

"Wake up."

It was one of the doctor's voices, one that Emily actually liked. In fact, Dr. Lee was probably the one person who clearly hated his job, but couldn't do anything about it. However, she wasn't caving yet, because for all she knew, it was a trick.

Even as she felt her restraints come loose, she was still hesitant to open her eyes, but that was before a different voice called out, "Come on, we don't have much time and we can't carry you."

Her eyes bolted awake, a sight she could hardly believe. In front of her was Dr. Lee, but also Victor, holding out a hand to pull her up. "What's going on?" she asked as she took his hand and slowly found her feet.

Victor noticed her stumble as she stood up, a consequence of all the torture she was accustomed to. Grabbing her hand again, he started to help her to the door. "We're getting out of here."

This is the moment they had been waiting for, but never expected they would get, so Emily hated that she felt so useless. But with every step, she could feel the pain in her ribs, the pounding in her head as a result of the echo from their feet hitting the floor. Exiting her cell, Emily realized they were one short. "What about Issac?"

"Right here," she heard from behind her. Turning her head, Emily quickly realized that Issac had regained his ability. For a second, she couldn't help but smile, knowing it was Dr. Lee that had tricked this entire facility.

"Let's move," she said calmly, finally finding the strength to stand on her own two feet.

Getting out was going a lot smoother than they ever thought, as Dr. Lee had provided Issac a layout of the facility, with the quickest escape route outlined in marker. He told him that there were federal officers on the road five miles north of the facility. There were virtually no guards outside, so they knew once they got outside, they were all capable of getting to that checkpoint. As for the guards within the facility, Issac would simply play the role, saying they were going for tests. If the guards ever questioned it, then Emily and Victor jumped into action, having the element of surprise to their advantage.

As the distance became shorter, their heartbeats raised, knowing what was ahead. They knew they couldn't go back home, as their lives as they once knew were over, but even the chance to live again was more than worth the effort.

However, everything changed when they attempted to push open the second last door with no success, only to hear the sound of the alarm seconds later.

They were so close, but the alarms going off showed that they weren't so lucky after all. Between the screaming sounds of the alarm and scuffles of feet coming from all around them, they knew they would have fight back at some point. With Victor working the computer system that locked the door, Emily and Issac turned around, ready for whatever this hell would throw at them.

The footsteps got louder, so Emily prepped herself, but when she heard the door automatically open behind her, Victor yelled to Issac, "Get her out of here."

They knew it was going to be more difficult outside the facility now, so Emily quickly moved towards the exit. But upon realizing that Victor wasn't following them, and the door at the end of the hallway was still locked, Emily turned to Issac, still disguised as Dr. Lee. He just nodded at her, thinking the same thing Emily was, but that wasn't enough for her. Emily knew what Victor was doing, and there was no way in hell she was allowing Victor to sacrifice himself for any reason.

"Come on Em," Issac pleaded with her as he grabbed her hand, but she quickly pulled it back to run back to Victor to knock some sense into him.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked him, thinking it was a valid question, but he didn't stop working, even after the alarm stopped ringing.

He wanted to ask Emily the same question. Victor knew their window for escape was diminishing by the second, and with a couple more keystrokes, he stopped biting his lip as the final door unlocked. So he finally told her what she needed to hear. "Giving you your second chance." Sure, the door was open, but the guards were getting closer, which meant that they needed a diversion if they had a hope.

When she hadn't moved, Victor said desperately, "You're not going to get another opportunity like this."

It was something he truly believed, which is why he didn't want her wasting any more time, something that clearly wasn't in their favour. The first wave of guards rounded the corner, so Emily prepped herself blocking the bullets, while Victor turned to project a wave of energy taking the guards off their feet. It wasn't much, but it gave them a minute more.

Victor didn't want to reveal the last part of the plan, but he knew there was no other way. "The only way to get out now is if I shut down the system after you get outside. You can handle the guards in person if they spread out. So please... get moving."

Emily narrowed her eyes, understanding what he had to do, but that didn't mean that she was willing to accept it. "What about you?"

"Me?" Victor asked, with the smallest smile he could manage, considering the circumstances. "I'll live knowing that I did something right as this... thing."

It killed her to see that expression, that doubt of him being human, of being more than a machine. It was why having cellmates was the saving grace of this living version of hell. They'd remind each other of the good things, the reason to press on, which is why Emily didn't want to leave him behind.

But she turned her head down the hallway, knowing that he was right, knowing that the guards on the ground were only the beginning. She squeezed her eyes shut, knowing that tears were coming, which is why she couldn't bear to look at him one last time.

"I will get you out of here," Emily called out after she caught up with Issac and they headed for the final door. "Maybe not today, but I _swear_..." The emphasis brought the tears to the surface, so she repeated while she still could, "I will get you out."

Victor looked up as the door shut seconds after. The determination in her voice, he was going to miss that. But he knew what he was doing would be worth it. With a smirk, he locked down the entire facility, sealing his fate.

**~End~**


	3. Deep Breaths & Running Back Home

**Title: **Deep Breaths/Running Back Home  
**Author: ** **slytherinpunk**/ **serafina19** (respectively)  
**Summary: **Running was the only form of exercise where he could almost believe he was his old self, but he always remembered his way back to her.  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Timeline: **Sly wrote "Deep Breaths" first, but in my head... about nine months after "Fighting Echoes."

* * *

**Deep Breaths**  
He couldn't break the habit of going for a morning run. Occasionally, usually with the help of a very strong minded woman (literally), he could be persuaded to put off running his standard five miles until nearly eleven. But old habits died hard, and running was the only form of exercise where he could almost believe he was his old self. There was just the repetitious sound of his feet pounding against the pavement with his breath every now and then uneven when he accelerated his pace. There was no noise from the part of him that was more machine than man, and there was no feeling overwhelmed by the use of downloaded information.

It was almost like reliving what every once-high school jock calls the glory days.

Before the accident, he never referred to himself as a computer-wiz. He knew the basics, sure. But his real passion in high school had been football, and he hadn't just thrived in it, he had concurred and led his team to a championship and took his name to the MVP ranks. His father had expressed some form of pride, but was more invested in his work and had occasionally mentioned how his son should strive to earn a scholarship that couldn't disappear in the blink of an eye after some kind of freak-accident injury.

But Victor had rarely let it get to him. When he was out on the field he was in his zone, and the only things that existed and mattered in those quick four quarters were him and the ball. He really only let his father's lack of enthusiasm get to him when the fans in the stands were chanting his name and his father, of course, was missing another game.

His mother was supportive, but she had more responsibilities as a stay at home mom to his little sister, with her dance classes and cheer-leading practices. They were still excited for him, even though a lot of the rules were too hard for them to follow, and they tried to make it to his games when they could. His championship game had been the exception; even his father had intended (after some nagging from Victor's mom the night before).

He could still feel the excitement from that game as he reflected back on it now. His memories were encrypted and his brain was now wired in a way that sent data to his nerves and throughout his body in a way that Dr. Emil had explained would have to be faster and stronger than average humans. And he felt his heart ache with a pivotal force as he recalled feeling accomplished when his father had wrapped his arm around him at the end of the game; patting his back and congratulating him on a game well done.

As his last mile comes to a close, he always remembers the last few chains of events from that day in a blur. His father suggesting going out to dinner to celebrate, his mother insisting on Victor riding with them rather than his teammates on the school bus, and his little sister negotiating celebratory ice cream. He can recall it all right down to the moment his father caught his gaze in the rear-view mirror, a silent exchange between the two of them just before the other car lost control and crashed into them.

As a natural reaction of sorts, his speed decreases when his memory from the incident crests. Which he's thankful for as his five miles are up, as well as his time for mourning. Within a few feet he's reached the steps of the apartment complex. And after getting passed the first locked door and up twenty flights of stairs, he's unlocking his door and entering his home; shutting the door on both his triumphs and tragic past, and leaving it on the paved roads for tomorrow's morning run.

Because there is no room for guilt trips, and he's been told repeatedly he's done more than his fair share already.

His steps are more careful now as he retreats to the bedroom, it's only going on seven and the sun has only just started to pour through the windows but he knows with just one wrong step to a creaky floorboard and he'll be labeled as the unwanted-alarm clock for the rest of the morning. Once the bedroom door is shut with great stealth on his part, he's shaking out of his grey hooded sweatshirt, and pulling his t-shirt over his head before tossing it in the dirty clothes hamper to the side of his closet.

The next destination for him is the shower, but he freezes when he turns around, his gaze instantly drawn to the sleeping figure on his bed. Her dark hair was spilled over her pillow as she slept on her back, slightly turned into the mattress more on her right side as if she was trying to hide from the sunlight that had started to seep through the window. And naturally, she had managed to kick the covers off of her body in her sleep, leaving her clad in only his white dress shirt from the Oliver's gala the previous night. Which Victor couldn't deny, definitely looked better on her than him.

"You're thinking too loud," her voice was slightly muffled from the pillow as she began to stir awake.

Victor let out a chuckle, "I'd apologize, but it's _your_ fault."

"Mhm," she turned onto her side, causing his shirt to ride up a few extra inches on her body to supply him with a few generous views of her creamy skin. "Believe me, if seducing you at the break of dawn had been _my_ intention, you would have found yourself home earlier."

"Oh really?" Victor kicked off his shoes before moving to the edge of the bed.

She took the invitation without hesitating and reached out for his arm, tugging him forward until she was pressed between his hard body and the mattress. "That, or you would have been more inspired to stay in bed." She hitched her leg up to his waist, her foot teasing up the back side of his pant leg, with just enough pressure to push his body more into hers while her hips seemed to move of their own accord to accommodate him.

Victor felt his mouth twitch slightly, "I happen to always find you..." His eyes dipped from her gaze to her neckline for a brief moment, and then his eyes returned on hers, immediately recognizing the mischief that sparkled behind her blue topaz gaze. He gently lifted his hand to her face, running the back of his fingers down over her cheek, feeling his breath hitch as she tilted her head to lean in to his touch.

"Inspiring," he whispered before he closed the distance between them and claimed her lips with his own.

Evie was like the first real deep breath after a long, exhilarating run. Which was fitting, since she was the reason he was still breathing.

...

**Running Back Home**  
She couldn't break the habit of being overly paranoid, it was part of who she was, part of how she was wired. This run was part of his routine, a little me-time he'd imply but never say aloud, yet it was the only time where she acted this way. At work, she knew he was okay, fiddling away at the newest database that needed to be cracked, or being part of making the newest technology.

Yet when he got up in the morning, to do his run, there was always a part of her that tensed up. He sensed it from time to time, calling her on it, and sometimes she'd pull him back to bed, saying it could wait a couple hours. Other times, she'd merely shrug it off, tell him to go ahead. The last thing she wanted was to be that crazy girlfriend, and Victor deserved better than that. After all, he was one of the few who managed to embrace everything about her, which was why this was one of the few times she ever used her powers.

Superhearing used to be a bitch to control when she was younger, but now, she could narrow down out of the millions of steps taken down to his. In a way, it soothed her, that constant rhythm of his year-old sneakers hitting the pavement. It was why she focused on the sound of his feet, instead of the voice in his head.

Evie wasn't an idiot, she knew what he thought during those times, as the drama of each other's lives wasn't a secret. But it wasn't just that. Evie actually hated ever knowing anything behind his back, and allowed him to have his time, knowing one day, he'd share with her. Because he always did.

And he always remembered his way back home. The familiar tapping on the staircase as he always refused to take the elevator, even after a five mile run, brought her heartbeat up to a familiar rate. Taking a quick breath in, she smelt the remnants of his scent of the shirt that had somehow transferred from him to her after they had returned home from the gala. Somehow, it kept her warmer than the sheets, as they felt like paper when she couldn't feel him there with her.

The door opened, so Evie allowed herself to relax, but the sun started to shine into her eyes, so she slightly manoeuvred to the right, knowing what to expect next. Quiet steps as he went through the hallway, trying not to wake her up after she accidentally called him the unwanted alarm clock a month ago. It wasn't her fault that a meeting went overtime and she hadn't been sleeping. But, being the guy Victor was, he never forgot, and made sure to practically tiptoe to not wake her up, even if Evie faked it morning after morning.

She waits for the bathroom door to close for his daily shower, but instead, she hears the smallest of creaks on the floor, and an overall pause in the air. He's never been that quiet. However, within seconds, she feels his gaze on her, and it takes everything for her not to blush. At this point, there wasn't exactly much left to the imagination, but based on the thought she 'accidentally' heard, it wasn't like he minded.

Blowing her cover, she said quietly, almost into her pillow, "You're thinking too loud."

With that, Victor chuckled, but didn't move in place. "I'd apologize, but it's _your_ fault."

Initially, Evie figured that it was her fault for reading his mind. "Mhm," she said, ready to apologize, but as she turned further on her side, she opened her eyes, seeing the way Victor's gaze followed the lines of her legs. Apparently there _are _benefits to kicking off the damn sheets after all.

"Believe me, if seducing you at the break of dawn had been _my_ intention, you would have found yourself home earlier."

She watched him kick off his shoes, almost absentmindedly, suggestively asking, "Oh really?" en route to sitting on the edge of the bed.

But he wasn't close enough, not by a long shot. He may spend the morning running, but she spends it worrying, and him sitting there wasn't going to cut it. Evie grabbed his arm, pulling him on top of her, liking this situation much better. "That, or you would have been more inspired to stay in bed."

Her words didn't go completely unpunished, her leg working from his waist, to her foot on the back of his pant leg, and she noticed how he twitched his mouth slightly in reaction.

"I happen to always find you..." The words trailed with his gaze, as his eyes moved lower down for just a second, but when he caught her eyes again, his fingers trailed down her cheek, so she leaned in, wanting just a bit more.

His sentence was finished in the form of a whisper as he leaned his head down closer. "Inspiring."

Evie wanted to ask what he meant by that, but she didn't get a chance as he kissed her deeply, almost taking her head from the pillow, taking her breath away.

But that was okay, because no matter how far he'd run in the morning, Victor would always come back to her, breathing life into a girl who never thought she'd live again.

**~End~**

* * *

_Sera's Scribbles: I thought about making "Second Chances" a longer series, and if you are interested in any of the in-between fics, let me know. But I figured it was best to finish this with the first Victor/Evie one-shot. Oddly enough, it wasn't even written by me, but it didn't take long for me to write the companion piece. Granted, this was written over a year ago, while I was transitioning my ending for "Fighting Echoes," but I thought it still fit. Also, Sly was kind enough to give me permission to post this, so I hope you enjoy this._


End file.
